Pentecost Sermon

Message for June 4, 2023

Text: Acts 2:14-41 “Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike— and they will prophesy. And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below— blood and fire and clouds of smoke. The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives. But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ “People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazaren…”

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this:

Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

25 David said about him:

“‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope,27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophetand knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendantson his throne.

31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’

36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”

41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

1. The Event of Pentecost

a. OT festival to celebrate the giving of the law (Sinai)

b. 50 days after Passover/Exodus from Egypt.

c. These festivals look back – but also point forward to the messianic age.

d. So when Jesus comes – his crucifixion occurs on Passover – because he is the fulfillment of the Passover – and is in fact the Passover lamb.

e. And so, 50 days later – Pentecost is also re-defined – its now the time when the spirit indwells us and because of this the “law” (10 Comm.) is written on our hearts… this fulfills Jeremiah’s prophecy:

i. Jere 31:31-33 “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.”

f. The (3) dramatic signs & symbols of Acts 2:

i. Wind – creation/re-creation (God’s breath)

ii. Fire – holiness – a “burning bush” (holy ground; Ex 3)

iii. Many languages – a dramatic (symbolic) reversal of babel (Genesis 11)

iv. instant multi-lingual communication of the gospel to the nations – not just Israel. The barrier of language will be crossed – though not eliminated. Again, there’s symbolism here – pertaining to the reach of the gospel and God’s mission to the whole world.

v.

2. Peter starts with Joel’s prophecy of the last days outpouring:

a. In the last days

b. What are these last days?

c. Holy spirit outpoured on all flesh – in OT it only on a few select people

d.

e. Men and women…

i. Verse 17,18,

ii. Male/female

iii. Young/old

iv. Even on “servants” (slave class)

v. Signs = miracles

vi. Reference to the sun and moon – seem to refer to the period around Jesus coming.

vii. And verse 21 is a key verse  “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

viii. The gospel is now about to break-out in all the nations of the earth.

ix. The OT talks much about the nations – and God’s love for all the people’s of the earth – and now its about to take on a new dimension – after Pentecost the disciples be at the fore-front of seeing the gospel spread world-wide

x. OT examples

Psalm 2:8

Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.

Psalm 22:27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.

Psalm 46:10

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

f. Some history of the Holy Spirit in the past 21 centuries…

g. Ron Kydd’s book – “Charismatic Gifts in the early Church”

The question I want to raise is: what happened after this first period of the Church’s life? In particular I want to address myself to the interval between the late first century and about AD 320.

I draw the line there, because the Council of Nicaea was held in 325, and it serves as a kind of watershed in Church history.

Steps were consciously taken there to tighten up things in the Church, in terms of both doctrine and practice.

Did Christians continue to pulsate with the life of the Spirit throughout this period? (Ronald A. N. Kydd, Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church: The Gifts of the Spirit in the First 300 Years (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2014)

The Didache:(written AD 50-100; 2nd half of the 1st cent.)

In 1873 the library of the Jerusalem monastery in Constantinople yielded a treasure that no one knew it contained: The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, or the Didache.

Ronald A. N. Kydd, Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church: The Gifts of the Spirit in the First 300 Years (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2014), 6.

Kydd " what emerges from a study of the sources is the picture of a Church which is strongly charismatic up until AD 200. In the half century following this date, the importance of the spiritual gifts in the lives of Christian communities appears to decline significantly and attitudes towards them change.

Ronald A. N. Kydd, Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church: The Gifts of the Spirit in the First 300 Years (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2014), 4.

The Didache has a lot to say about the gifts of the Spirit. While the cautious attitude must be acknowledged and the rise of elected officials noted, prophecy is still highly valued, and the charismatics are active. The Syrian communities to which the Didache was written sometime between AD 50 and 100 were very much aware of the ministry of spiritual gifts, and they were not alone.

Ronald A. N. Kydd, Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church: The Gifts of the Spirit in the First 300 Years (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2014), 11.

Clement of Rome, - bishop of Rome.

Late in the first century of our era on behalf of the Roman church, he addressed a letter to the Christian community in Corinth.Difficulties had arisen there, and he was trying to restore order.

Embedded in this passionate appeal for understanding and cooperation is a passage which makes Clement of importance to this study—“So let our whole body be preserved in Christ Jesus …, and let each put himself at the service of his neighbour as his particular spiritual gift dictates.”[1]

*** this passage provides us with evidence that the spiritual gifts were in operation among Roman Christians toward the end of the first century

However, as we pass the century mark, but the number of written sources to which we can refer falls off drastically.

In the 2nd century we discover that a warm sense of God’s presence persisted and that the gifts were still present. Evidence may be mined from two sources.

Ignatius of Antioch

· One of the earliest bishops in the history of the Church

· he wrote 7 letters between AD 98 - 117

· finally - martyred in Rome.

Here is one excerpt of a letter written to another Bishop (Polycarp of Smyrna)

, …”ask for invisible things so that they may be made manifest to you in order that you may lack nothing and abound with all spiritual gifts.”[2]

While I was among you, I cried out, I was speaking with a loud voice, God’s voice, “Pay attention to the bishop, to the presbytery and deacons.” And some were suspecting that I said these things as one who had had prior information about a division which certain people had caused, but he for whom I am in bonds is my witness that I did not get this information from any man. But the Spirit proclaimed aloud, saying, “Do nothing without the bishop; keep your flesh as the temple of God; love unity; flee divisions; be imitators of Jesus Christ as he is of his Father.”[3]

h. Movements

i. Tension has been between the fire and the fireplace

j. Book by Charles Hummel

k. Church and state “marriage” – that was how you survived back then?

3. Jesus of Nazareth

a. Crucified

b. Raised

c. Exalted

d. Lord and messiah

4. Peter connects Jesus to King David.

a. Jesus is the new David (Davidic king)

b. One of his descendants

c. Seeing what was to come

d. Spoke of the resurrection…

5. The response - What shall we do?

a. Repent…be baptized… receive the Holy spirit.

b. Be saved from this “corrupt generation.”

c. 3000 repent & are baptized!

[1]Ronald A. N. Kydd, Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church: The Gifts of the Spirit in the First 300 Years (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2014), 11. [2]Ronald A. N. Kydd, Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church: The Gifts of the Spirit in the First 300 Years (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2014), 15. [3]Ronald A. N. Kydd, Charismatic Gifts in the Early Church: The Gifts of the Spirit in the First 300 Years (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2014), 16.